“Fuck you! You’re damn right you fucked up!” she spat. “Be glad you lived, Sipes. Because I was aiming for your fucking chest!” she hissed, pressing her index finger into his wound and causing him to wince.
“We can play this however you want, Coast. That shit with Arwen was a mistake, aight. We even as far as I’m concerned, but we can work this shit out.”
Disbelief crowded her face, and her dark brown orbs bounced around his before he sneered coldly. She realized that he was the father to the baby growing in her womb, and for a moment, it gave her pause. Could she do this? Did she want tobe tied to Sipes for the foreseeable future? How had she been so careless and let this happen?
“Work it out? I see you have no problem operating in delusion.”
“Everybody around here knows you belong to me, Coast. How do you think this is going to work out for you? You know who the fuck I am, and with my connections in this city nobody will miss you.”
“I’m not your property, Sipes. I don’t belong to anybody. I don’t give a fuck about your connections either. So, consider this your final warning. Stay the fuck away from me!” She stomped past him and marched to the parking lot to her car.
“This shit over when I say it is!” Sipes yelled after her.
Coast ignored him as she whipped off the lot. She viewed him in her rearview mirror and hit the corner when she reached the end of the block. Although she told herself she was done, she got the feeling she hadn’t seen the last of Sipes. It wasn’t like she could hide her pregnancy if she decided to go through with it. Part of her wondered if it would be best to terminate and wash her hands of the situation.
Sipes, oddly, was the last thing on her mind as she wondered more about the handsome stranger now circling her sphere. Coast hadn’t spent much time out and about nor paid attention to who was who around these parts since being back. Her main concern was making sure she could eat and pay bills. The way he looked through her left her vulnerable, and she didn’t like that.
“I can’t believe you’re even giving Danilo the time of day.” Ayla examined an orange from the stand where she and Inari shopped at the farmer’s market that Sunday morning.
It had been their thing since they were younger. Their Mom would wake them up early, make a quick breakfast, and they would head out to explore. Ayla loved picking out fresh produce and seeing what new vendors popped in. Dane used to tag along, but since he got older, he preferred to sleep in.
“He’s not going to go away otherwise.” Inari reached for a bag of apples and turned to the flower stand a few steps away.
She loved getting fresh flowers and filling the vases in the house with them. Her favorites were white roses and baby’s breath combined. With a green Von Dutch hat resting on her head, she kept it casual in ripped denim shorts that hugged her thick thighs, and a white crop top. Being a bigger girl never stopped her from showing out when it came to her style of dress. Most bitches couldn’t hate but often took notes.
“I knew he would do exactly what he’s doing.” Inari picked up a bouquet of roses and brought them to her nose to inhale. “These smell amazing, Laci.” She smiled up at the attendant nearby, arranging more peonies in a vase.
She was an older woman with auburn hair and warm, whiskey tinted eyes. In a simple pink pantsuit with white sneakers, she paused and moved closer to the table where Inari stood.
“Yes, they do. It’s the last one I have today, Inari. I have a little bit of baby’s breath set aside for you too.”
“You are a gem!”
“How is Dane?” Laci asked, pulling a small box from under a nearby table.
“Oh, growing like a weed. I can’t get him to stop eating. His ass is grounded right now, though.” Inari grimaced, still upset about the tattoo situation.
Not as unsettled as she was about how Dane spoke to her, though. He still hadn’t apologized either. Instead, he was walking around like he was mad at the world.
“Oh, what did my boy do?” Laci questioned, removing the bundle of baby’s breath from the box and placing it on the table.
“He went and got a tattoo. Without my permission, I might add.”
“Oh. He’s at that age. Isn’t he almost sixteen?”
“Sixteen is still not eighteen, Laci.” Inari shook her head. “Everybody acts like I’m overreacting or something. It starts with a tattoo. Then what? Smoking, drinking, selling drugs?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Laci spoke up as Inari dug around her crossbody bag for her wallet.
“I used to think that, too, until he came home with a damn tattoo!”
“Well, what did he get?”
Inari paused, hand still in her wallet as she stared sheepishly into the woman’s wisdom filled eyes. She’d known Laci practically all her life and vented to her all the time about everything. The two had each other’s numbers and checked in at least once a week. Inari even popped up at the market solo sometimes if Ayla didn’t want to roll out of bed. The two would park downtown and catch the streetcar over here to walk around and shop for fresh produce and whatever else the vendors provided that week.
“My name,” Inari revealed, watching Laci hide a smile.
“So, nothing outrageous like skulls or guns? He got his mama’s name as his first tattoo?”
